15
votes
1answer
225 views
Was there any theological opposition to the lightning rod?
Apparently, there was some opposition to the lightning rod at the time of its invention because lightning was seen as "the wrath of God" and should not be controlled.
I'd like to find some citations ...
14
votes
6answers
436 views
How do new countries legally and without bloodshed declare themselves independent?
I saw an article about the legality of the declaration of independence. For example, when USSR broke up, several countries became independent, but for others, there is still fighting to maintain them ...
13
votes
5answers
497 views
Why did Civil War officers tell their men to “aim low”?
I'm listening to Gettysburg by Stephen W. Sears and the officers on both sides seem to always exhort their men to "aim low". For instance, General John Gibbon told his 2nd Division infantry:
Do ...
13
votes
2answers
206 views
What was Libya's form of direct democracy (Jamahiria) like in practice?
I've been following the recent events in Libya and I learned about the Green Book, which outlines Gaddafi's vision for a democratic socialism. Published in 1975, it proposed a form of direct democracy ...
12
votes
2answers
947 views
Were there any attempts to assassinate Joseph Stalin?
Were there any attempts to assassinate Stalin? I haven't learned of any attempt to kill him, was he so brutal that no one tried to kill him?
12
votes
2answers
331 views
Why was the Western Front so static in World War I?
Once the German advance was halted, neither side could seriously advance for two years. This seems like an extraordinarily long time. Why didn't anyone succeed at going around the trenches or striking ...
11
votes
3answers
820 views
What caused the Iranian 1979 revolution to become Islamic?
How did an initially anti-Shah revolution become an Islamic revolution? Was it because of Khomenei's return to Iran such that he seized the Iranian revolution?
11
votes
5answers
1k views
World War II - Have Historians Envisioned How The Axis Powers Might Have Won? [closed]
OK, so it's a "WWII What If" question, I have searched on here and cannot find an example of this being asked before, which I find surprising. Maybe my searching abilities aren't very good.
Anyhow, ...
11
votes
2answers
281 views
New World Sickness
When Europeans came to the Americas, they brought with them "Old World diseases" that decimated the Native American population. There's a big list of them here. Were there any "New World" diseases ...
10
votes
2answers
167 views
How did France worsen its relationship with Turkey?
Several years back Turkey barred some French companies to participate in one of its arms procurement tender. Turkey doesn't allow French military air-crafts or ships to pass its territorial space. ...
10
votes
3answers
272 views
Is there any country(former colony) in the world that obtained independence and then again tried to join its colonist ruler?
Is there any country(former colony) in the world that fought for/obtained independence and then again tried to join its colonist ruler?
I guess an African country did so.
Can anyone tell me?
10
votes
2answers
378 views
Effectiveness of Cossack cavalry
I know that some people in Europe very much admire Russian Cossack cavalry and think it is very effective. But in Russia there was a proverb that one hussar is equal to two cossacks, one dragoon is ...
10
votes
3answers
203 views
What would be accurate illustrations of vikings and viking culture?
Vikings didn't have horned helmets as is often depicted. Where can I find accurate representations how vikings and viking society looked?
10
votes
5answers
1k views
When did the Holy Roman Empire collapse?
In the 1500's, the Holy Roman Empire was a relatively powerful country. By the mid 1800's, it seemed to be superseded by in importance by its states.
When did the unified "Holy Roman Empire" really ...
9
votes
1answer
121 views
World War 1 Indian propaganda posters
In World War 1, because war broke out between the triple entente and the central powers (and they happened to have a lot of foreign colonies), the allies made posters to recruit soldiers from all ...
9
votes
2answers
270 views
Did Churchill and Roosevelt know about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, or the following secret pacts between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union?
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was the non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany prior to, and during WWII. It seems that the actions of the two countries after the invasion of Poland ...
9
votes
4answers
211 views
Are there ancient historical sources which have been permanently lost?
I'm in a Yr 11 Ancient history class studying Rome, and whenever I look over ancient sources on wikipedia there is always a list of lost works and occasionally a sentence describing how unfortunate it ...
8
votes
1answer
240 views
Why was record keeping forbidden in Ancient Sparta?
in Ancient Sparta, record keeping and any kind of written history was forbidden by law. (src: http://history.stackexchange.com/a/5966/332 )
What was the rationale for such a law?
8
votes
1answer
139 views
What are the problems archaeologists face in deciphering Indus Valley writing?
From this link on Indus Valley writing, I came to know that:
The first Indian script, developed in the Indus Valley around 2600 B.C. is still undeciphered. Thus, it is still not possible to fully ...
8
votes
1answer
182 views
How come Incas believed that the Spanish were the incarnation of their “thunder god”?
I have recently been studying Francisco Pizarro and his domination over the Incas. I watched a clip called "Guns, Germs, and Steel". It was quite interesting, how Pizarro dominated the Incas with only ...
8
votes
3answers
764 views
What was President Jimmy Carter's role in the Iranian Revolution?
Iran was a friend to the USA until Carter traveled to Iran and immediately afterwards Iran faced revolution. Khomeini went to Iran from France.
On November 4, 1979, an angry mob of young Islamic ...
8
votes
1answer
240 views
What were Hispanic people called in the US in the 1800s?
Today in the US, people from Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas are called by various names: Hispanic, Latino, Chicano, etc. What was the term used by Americans for such people in the 1800s?
...
8
votes
4answers
2k views
Why did Canada, Australia and New Zealand separate from UK?
I asked this question in various places in the Web. I haven't received a clear answer.
The USA separated from the UK because the people felt that they are not British, and they weren't.
Weren't ...
8
votes
5answers
282 views
Is there any documentation regarding the use of war elephants in battles?
Does anyone know of any battles where war elephants played either a major or decisive part in the victory of whoever had them? As far as I know, they were mostly used for the fear factor and were ...
7
votes
2answers
364 views
Was Alexander the Great Greek or Macedonian?
This questions has been confusing me for a while. Was Alexander the Great Greek or Macedonian? He was born in Pella, Macedonia, but is he considered Greek? Do nationality and ethnicity mean different ...
7
votes
1answer
162 views
Was the UN critically involved in defusing the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Is there any evidence to show that the Cuban Missile Crisis was scaled back because of the actions of UN personnel acting in their UN role?
The topic came up recently about precedent for UN having ...
7
votes
2answers
177 views
Army formation: veterans at the first line
I am trying to understand the early roman legion deployment. I can see some advantages to putting the inexperienced warriors at the first line and the veterans at the last.
But have there been ...
7
votes
1answer
208 views
How Many Members of US Congress Have Died While In Office?
As best I can tell, Leo Ryan of California is the only U.S. Member of Congress murdered while in office. He was killed by members of the People's Temple in Guyana in 1978. What I'm looking for are how ...
7
votes
3answers
1k views
What was the most important cause of the Second World War?
What was the most important cause of the Second World War? Obviously there was the Treaty of Versailles which played a significant part; the War Guilt Clause, Reparations, Disarmament and territorial ...
7
votes
1answer
378 views
What is the origin of the rampant lion herald?
We often see the image of the rampant lion used as a symbol in heraldry and other places. I understand the significance of the lion, and I am aware that ancient art often incorporated the lion, but ...
7
votes
2answers
837 views
How did Alexander III of Macedon get the title “the Great”?
Alexander III of Macedon is referred to as Alexander "the great", but who gave him this title? At what point in history was he acknowledged as such and why is he considered so great?
7
votes
2answers
409 views
Did war chariots ever actually have blades on the wheel hubs?
Several movies depict Greek and Roman war chariots with sharp, sword like blades protruding from the hub in the centre of the wheels. Was such a design just theatre on the part of the movies or is ...
6
votes
1answer
128 views
Examples of censorship causing economic decline
I am writing a blog post about knowledge banning, either by state censorship or by self-imposed censorship, like the US Comics Code Authority of the 20th century.
My focus is moral censorship, ...
6
votes
1answer
145 views
How were war elephants used against cavalry?
In this question: How do war elephants fight? it was mentioned that horses tend to dislike elephants, so it is effective against cavalry. How does this work in practice? I don't imagine it would be a ...
6
votes
3answers
477 views
Oldest known international sporting event
We know that modern Olympics are very popular international sporting events. What is the earliest known (documented) instance of an international sporting event?
Let us define an international sports ...
6
votes
2answers
164 views
Did WWII Delay Indian Independence?
During WWII, Gandhi said that Indians should adopt a compromising attitude towards the British due to the stresses of war. Did this prolong the (near) inactivity of the Indian National Movement? Or ...
6
votes
2answers
168 views
What was the official language used across European monarchies in the XII century?
I have been reading about European history in the XII century and I am finding out that several of the modern day languages hadn't yet evolved to what they are now: Langue d'oïl was still being used ...
6
votes
2answers
614 views
Why did Mongolia split in two when they declared independence?
When Mongolia declared independence from the Qing Empire in 1911, part of it stayed under Qing control. This is the part known today as Inner Mongolia. But even before their independence, there were ...
6
votes
4answers
750 views
How was Germany's border decided?
What is the timeline of events that led to Germany's current geographic shape?
For example:
1871: German Empire formed
1919: Weimar Republic formed
5
votes
1answer
167 views
Who first wrote about deafness?
Aristotle referred to the sense of hearing in his work "The Problems". He correlated hearing with the capacity of learning, he believed that the sense of hearing was the most important in order to ...
5
votes
2answers
105 views
Where does the tradition of Christmas gifts comes from?
Where does the modern tradition of exchanging gifts from Christmas comes from? I've heard that it's inspired by a similar tradition the Ancient Romans had on one of their festivals, is that true?
5
votes
1answer
154 views
What are the archaeological evidence for the Aztec's use of entheogens?
A recent Skeptics question, Was honey used preserve psychoactive mushrooms in the ancient past?, caught my attention and I came upon the Wikipedia article on the Aztec use of entheogens. The article ...
5
votes
3answers
124 views
What language was the Charter of Liberties written in?
While researching my answer for the What was the official language used across European monarchies in the XII century? question I came upon the Charter of Liberties, or Coronation Charter, issued by ...
5
votes
2answers
622 views
How did Egypt become a protectorate of the British empire?
How did Egypt become a protectorate of the British empire in 1914?
(Feel free to add more content to this question)
5
votes
3answers
386 views
What technological/economic factors triggered the Industrial Revolution?
In the 19th century, many things started to change. The world of 1800 would not be a shock to a person from the 15th century. But for some reason, the world of today would be an incredible shock to ...
4
votes
2answers
92 views
The practice of translating foreign monarch's or noble's name
In history texts, past foreign monarchs are normally referred to by the English version of their name, e.g. Francis I (not François), Charles V (not Carlos, Karel, or Karl), Phillip II (not Felipe). ...
4
votes
1answer
110 views
Why did the clocks go back in Shanghai on December 31, 1927?
If you are a Stack Overflow user you may already have read Jon Skeet's excellent answer that discusses a time zone change at the end of 1927 in Shangai, when the clocks went back for 5 minutes and 52 ...
4
votes
1answer
68 views
What are the modern roles of “brigadier” generals and commodores?
It has been said that the hardest jump in the military is between colonel and general. That's because a colonel is a "specialist" who commands troops of only one type (infantry, cavalry or artillery), ...
4
votes
1answer
121 views
What did sectionalism have to do with the American civil war?
I've been writing an essay for school and I've been wondering what did sectionalism have to do with the Civil War? Does sectionalism include the Missouri Compromise and the breaking away of the South? ...
4
votes
3answers
251 views
What started the Korean war?
Is it true that the catalyst was a conflict about a tree right on the border? I heard it from a teacher at a US university as he was teaching a course about nation-states in and out of war.
